Category: HRFT IN NEWS

Our joint statement against the escalating crackdown on and criminalization of civil society was held today (27 February 2019) at a press conference at Aynalı Geçit in Galatasaray, Istanbul. Speaking at the press conference, our Istanbul representative Ümit Efe said, “We are proud to stand side by side in the face of attacks targeting civil society. We will not get […]

10 January 2017 On 11 January, the second hearing of Professor Sebnem Korur Fincanci, President of the Human Rights Foundation Turkey (an IRCT member) and a member of the Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG) will take place in Istanbul. IRCT Director for Governance and Policy, Miriam Reventlow, will join a delegation of human rights defenders to observe the hearing. The […]

Donna McKay* – 21.11.2016 It was standing room only inside Europe’s largest courthouse, a fortress of a structure just north of Istanbul’s historic city center. I was crammed alongside human rights defenders and doctors from across Turkey and around the world to support our colleague and friend, Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, a forensic physician and long-time torture investigator put on […]

LUTZ OETTE* – 17 November 2016 Protests and a show of strength demonstrate the importance of challenging a state that reverts to the arbitrary exercise of power. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincani, a forensic doctor, university professor, and human rights defender, has been a leading figure in the struggle against torture worldwide. Now she stands accused, together with two prominent journalists, Erol Önderoĝlu and […]

21-07-2016 IRCT member in Turkey Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) has released a statement following Friday night’s failed coup d’état in Turkey, expressing its deep concern about the mass arrest of thousands of soldiers and civilians as well as allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees. Images have recently surfaced, showing dozens of detainees huddled together naked and […]

The undersigned organizations, members of the Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN), express their deep concern about the recent arrest of the President of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT), Ms. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, together with MM. Erol Önderoğlu (journalist and Turkey representative of Reporters Without Borders) and Ahmet Nesin (journalist and writer). According to the HRFT and media […]

Committee Against Torture Urges Turkey to Take Serious Action to End Torture and Stop Crackdown on Civil Society 17-05-2016 The UN Committee against Torture has expressed serious concern about torture and ill-treatment in Turkey, particularly in the context of counter-terrorism operations in the south-east of the country, and is calling on the Turkish Government to publically condemn acts of torture […]

13.04.2016 By Selahattin Demirtaş* DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — When Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently paid a visit to Washington, he gave Americans a taste of the kinds of policies he employs at home. His guards reportedly roughed up reporters outside a think tank while an LED-lit van that said “Truth + Peace = Erdogan” drove around the United States capital. […]

TUR 001 / 0116 / OBS 010Arbitrary detention / ReleaseJudicial harassmentTurkeyJanuary 19, 2016 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey. Description of the situation: The Observatory has been informed by […]